A New Perspective
by IdesofMay
Summary: A speculative in-game interlude. A delay in Bhujerba causes Ashe to rethink some things, attain one heart's desire, and - possibly - even lighten up. Oneshot


Author's Note: There's a piece of FF12 concept art that has two figures holding hands and looking off balance in the midground, with a viera receiving orders in the foreground from what might be a chocobo knight, and airships in the background. It took me a remarkably long time to realize this was a battle scene - before that I thought the figures looked like they were dancing. This grew out of that before. Also from wondering what possible use Vaan's vest could have. Neither this concept art nor FF12 belong to me.

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Ashe was the last to leave the weapon store, because she had snuck back to steal a last look at her sword –

- but it wasn't her sword, and it never would be. They needed the spells and the armour and knives – Penelo's bowstaff had only just barely been keeping enemies at bay recently and they needed her properly equipped for the battles ahead. They didn't have the gil and Ashe didn't need the sword, she told herself firmly. But oh, how she wanted it.

The Bhujerban sun was painfully bright in her eyes, and it took her a few moments to notice that two of her party were missing.

"Where is Balthier?" she asked. It was needless to ask about the other, for the viera would follow Balthier in and out of their company.

"He claimed to be calling in a debt from a friend he had seen, and asked us to wait here, my lady," Basch rumbled.

Ashe sighed. Balthier had likely done nothing nearly so polite as asking. But if she needed Penelo's weapon aiding them, even more did she need Balthier's sword arm, knowledge, and - most of all - airship. Reluctantly she leaned against the wall to wait. Basch automatically took up guard's position defending her, and Vaan and Penelo stood slightly further out in the street, already fidgeting. She watched as they got into some scuffle that ended in Vaan rubbing the back of his head while Penelo crossed her arms and smiled smugly at him, then smoothly transitioned back into a familiar tête-à-tête with a speed that Ashe found astonishing. When Ashe lost her temper, she stayed angry. Even as Basch guarded her Ashe remained wary herself. For too many years she had known Basch as a traitor, and the recent betrayal of Vossler had left her yet more mistrustful of bodyguards and vassals.

"No! " Penelo shouted suddenly. "With you, or not at all!" Ashe winced at the curious faces turning their way.

"Fine," Vaan grumbled. "We'd make more the other way and you know it." They both began a series of odd stretches, Penelo with eyes closed and smooth movements, Vaan more jerkily and with a series of odd facial contortions.

Ashe leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, attempting to relax. Whatever it was, it probably wouldn't concern her. Her ears thrummed with all of the surrounding sounds, and she felt a tension at the base of her neck that she simply couldn't voluntarily let go of. She'd spent too many years as a fugitive to be comfortable on any street as busy as this.

Her eyes snapped open at a clap from in front of her. Vaan had taken off his vest, and he and Penelo were standing back to back. It was they that had clapped, and they now began a series of slow steps around and next to and beneath each other. With one final spin they were back to back again, and clapped once more. Then they repeated the steps, slightly faster, and again, until they were whirling so fast Ashe could hardly recognize the initial dance. With one final repetition they ended back to back again, and their final clap was echoed by a crowd of people Ashe belatedly noticed had gathered around. She heard some clanking, and noticed that people were dropping gil into Vaan's vest. With the stiff sides and clasp propping up, it made a surprisingly sound receptacle for money. Ashe found her respect for Vaan and Penelo rising. It was one thing to know she was a dancer, and another to see it in action.

They started another dance, to a song with words - "The Lonely Desert Rose," an old folk song from Rabanastre. Although the dance was slower, the song still faltered as both Vaan (who had not improved the song much to begin with) and Penelo used breath for dancing. It was a shame, though Ashe, that none in the audience knew the tune and could join –

Her thought was cut short by a rich baritone adding to the dancers' faltering tenor and alto. Shocked, she made eye contact with Basch, who shrugged at her and continued singing. At the song's conclusion, the crowd surrounding them had grown and the amount of gil being thrown onto Vaan's vest grew proportionally.

Ashe was beginning to grow claustrophobic from the number of people surrounding and staring at her. 'one of them knows,' part of her mind insisted neurotically, and she all but bolted when she saw figures coming through the crowd. 'TheEmpiretheempiretheempire,' her instincts screamed, and Basch shifted slightly in front of her, but - as always thus far - it was not her end, but only the street musicians she remembered passing between the gambit shop and the weapon store.

After a brief but seemingly intense conversation, Vaan picked up his vest and returned it to his back, pocketing the gil. The musicians placed their rather more professional bowl down, and Vaan moved to stand by Ashe and Basch as Penelo moved to the center of the clearing in the crowd.

"We're pooling our resources," he explained, in response to Ashe's quizzical look. He waited until Penelo seemed absorbed in her dance, then quietly disappeared. He reappeared shortly, and Ashe noticed the gil in his pockets seemed to have multiplied.

"Don't tell Penelo," he begged. "But it's only fair. I've danced with her twice and the next one's a couple's dance, too."

Ashe opened her mouth to respond indignantly, but the music ended, and Vaan took the opportunity to escape back to the dancing ring. He continued dancing and picking pockets alternately, over the next few hours, as the crowd grew and shrank around them. Around sunset, the last of the crowd drifted away, and the musicians and dancers began to split their earnings.

"Are we too late for a dance?" Balthier asked, wandering down the street with Fran close behind. He was smirking, as almost always, and Ashe spared a moment to hate him for making them lose half a day and not caring.

"One more, for fun?" Penelo asked the musicians. They gave a collective shrug, and soon a jig was filling the air. It was a dance made for dancing to, not for showing off the skill of a dancer, and so when Balthier appeared in front her with hand outstretched Ashe took it and allowed herself to be pulled into the dance. Before long Balthier passed her off to Vaan, which was a bit of a relief. Balthier was excellent at a great many things, but dancing wasn't one of them. Vaan, by comparison, was poor at a great many things - but dancing wasn't one of them. As he whirled her around faster and faster, Ashe found the tight spot in between her shoulders loosening. She saw Balthier pass Penelo off to Basch and disappear again, and she knew that the Empire wouldn't wait for her to enjoy herself, but she simply couldn't bring herself to care about anything but the music and the motion. By the time the song ended she was laughing uncontrollably between gasping for breath, overcome by the joy of movement.

By the time she regained control (and breath) Balthier was once again standing in front of her, with hand outstretched – but this time in his hand was her sword. "My lady," he said, kneeling and offering it hilt first in an exaggerated parody of courtliness. Beside her Vaan patted his flat, gil-less pockets.

"Hey! That was going to be my gift!" he grumbled.

"Yes, but when I stole it from you it became mine," Balthier answered out of the side of his mouth. "Besides, half the gil was from my debt."

Ashe stared at the sword. It occurred to her for the first time; had the Empire not invaded, Basch would have been nothing more than a faceless guard, Penelo a nameless citizen, Vaan and Balthier and Fran nothing but criminals to be found and punished; for all she had lost, she had also gained.

For the first time she understood what Vaan meant when he said he wanted to stop the empire to make hope for the future, not to exact revenge for the past.

"Thank you," she said as she took the hilt of the sword, and if her voice shook a little, not even Vaan commented on it.


End file.
